ITW Treasure Hunting on Eclipse Island
Synopsis Started in June 2010 and currently ongoing, Eclipse Island is the second ITW game started by Derek H, and marks the start of the Ressurrection of If They Were. It's seen as both a public apology on Derek's part for his role in the Cataclysm, as well as an attempt to revive the game after having helped kill it. The timeline of Eclipse is somewhat similar to the actual events of ITW: Rather than simply start over fresh and pretend nothing happened, the game takes into account the ambiguous ending of KD's "If They Were Stealing From Me Again... Yes, Again", acting as a continuation of events, rather than a restart. Derek Zerus Barona and his group are still antagonists to the rest of the ITWverse, and act with much greater hostility towards certain other groups than before. It's unknown as of yet how this will play out, and people can only watch as the game progresses. Story Taking place at least six months following the end of what has come to be known as the "Estate Incident" (See "If They Were Stealing From Me Again... Yes, Again") Eclipse Island is considered a legendary island, supposedly holding all kinds of treasure, but no one can ever confirm its existance or if the stories are true. Someone has finally managed to provide concrete proof that the island exists, and treasure-seekers worldwide have begun to take an interest in it. This is cut short when, upon reaching the island, they find that the Blue Wings, with Derek Zerus Barona in front, have already claimed the island for themselves and run everyone off. The game starts a few days after this initial event, just in time for Derek to fire a warning shot at some of the news crews still trying to cover the story....and revealing at the same time that he somehow stole KD Rio's HYPER DEATH RAY as well. Undeterred, people around the world are lining up to attempt to explore the island and find whatever treasure they can, at whatever the cost. Of course, that's just the general crowd. Most of the major players in ITW have gone their seperate ways as of the start of the game, but very nearly every one of them paying attention realizes that Barona has illegally gained possession of one of the most powerful WMDs in the ITWverse, and it becomes a major worry. After being alerted to the situation by Mikey during his vacation in Station Square, KD Rio is, for obvious reasons, particularly distressed by the theft of his weapon, and has gained SM's cooperation towards the gun's recovery. With the threat of what the Blue Wings could do if left to run free in everyone's minds, the groups begin the slow process of reuniting, centralizing around the major bullet point of the theft of the HYPER DEATH RAY. With most of the groups networking around KD's group, they continue to explore the island with the hopes of possibly discovering the location where the Blue Wings are keeping the weapon when not using it on people. Upon the discovery of and realization that it's likely hidden onboard Barona's spaceship, the Ryaga, SM and KD's groups together hatch a daring plan to storm the Western Grasslands where it is currently located and force their way onto the ship to recover the gun. The plan in itself goes better than they could have hoped, as most of the other factions pitch in to help and, despite extreme resistance and even a few new faces in Barona's employ, Marth alone, working for KD, survives long enough to reach the Bridge of the Ryaga, steal back the HDR, hijack a decent portion of the Blue Wings' version of the Island Map, and even taunt Derek to his face on the way out. However, even without that weapon, the Blue Wings always have a few more hidden away. Just prior to the raid, Derek revealed that they also possessed yet again the seven Chaos Emeralds which had been thought missing since the end of the Estate Incident, and just as before, began putting them to great use in defending his holdings against the world. Of further note is the island itself. Several people, mostly amongst KD and SM's group, have begun to wonder there may be more to things than originally thought, as the map data Marth acquired held the location of several key marks across the island which the Blue Wings have taken an interest in. Speculation is at a premium on what's really going on and where, and the prices are expected to continue in this direction for some time. With a new day, a new adventure. The Ryaga has vanished from the grasslands following the assault upon it, and the mysterious Site Alpha on the mountain has been revealed to be a mine operated by the Blue Wings. What more will be revealed as the story progresses? Setting Not much is known about Eclipse Island itself, as the place wasn't even confirmed to exist before the start of the game. Most attempts to explore the island are frought with and end in disaster, though a decent amount of sends so far have managed to bring back some limited information. Areas of the island So far, several major areas of the island have been established, though how many more are still uncharted is up in the air. These are: *The Beach: The "starting point" on the south/southeastern rim of the island, and so far one of the most naturally safe areas to go. *Green Forest: Just inland from the beach, it takes up a decent portion of the southeastern side of the map. Slightly more dangerous than the beach. *Jungle Zone: Takes up most of area east of the forest all the way to the edge of the island. Far more dangerous than the other two areas before it. Watch out for hungry plants. *Starfall Mountain: Stands above most of the northeastern side of the mountain beyond the forest and jungle. Thought to be a treasure trove of mineral veins. *Western Grasslands: Takes up nearly the entire southwestern side of the map, and accessable from the beach. The Blue Wings' ship, the Ryaga, first appeared in this area, though it has since disappeared. *~Grasslands Fortress~: The fortified base of operations located directly in the center of the Western Grasslands, previously under heavy guard by the Ryaga itself. Large and heavily defended, it appears to be both a foothold on the island as well as a defensive position protecting the entrance to what appears to be a large cavern below, which the Blue Wings are interested in for reasons as yet unknown. *Mountain Mines: Deep within Mt. Starfall, the Blue Wings are digging. Gems and ore may be easier to find here than on the surface of the mountain, but the security will be much tighter as a result. More on this section as it's revealed in game. The Island Map One of the mechanics currently in place in Eclipse is the Island Map. Nearly all sends that survive, whether they succeed in finding treasure or not, automatically fill in a percentage of an area's map, increasing the overall knowledge of the island and adding to everyone's chances to earn bonuses as the game goes on. Though not fully elaborated on at the moment, players are encouraged to try filling in as much of the map as possible. Current details of how the percentages work is as follows: *Level 1. This area was either just recently discovered or hasn't been explored almost at all yet. It's safe to assume that the Blue Wings know much more about the place than the players do right now, and any treasures a send finds, if at all, aren't going to be worth more than a few hundred dollars. Any natural hazards, such as those found in the Jungle Zone, have an automatic bonus chance of killing a send outright as well. *Level 2. The "outskirts" of the area have been mostly explored, and the sendees are starting to find their way deeper into the territory now. There's a slightly better chance in most cases of making it through an encounter with the Blue Wings as knowledge of the area increases, and any treasure found is going to be more valuable than before. In addition, depending on the area, the natural hazards found in Level 1 may be reduced as people are starting to expect them more, but new hazards may begin to appear now that they're deeper into the area than before. *Level 3: Deeper and deeper into an area you go, what you'll find, nobody knows. The treasure values increase even higher than in the two levels before it, and the natural hazards can yet again change depending on the region. You're more than halfway completed with an area when you reach Level 3, but be prepared. Some places don't like having their secrets exposed. Island Sections: Mostly just for fun, every set area of the island has it's own subname. Most of them are reflective of the section itself, but a few are just there because they sound cool. They are: The Beach: --- Level 1: - Door Into Adventure - Level 2: - Surfside Trail - Level 3: - Dawning Transformation - ??? --- Green Forest: --- Level 1: - World of Nature - Level 2: - Mysterious Wildwood - ??? --- Jungle Zone: --- Level 1: - Malicious Vegetation - Level 2: - Memories Overgrown - ??? --- Starfall Mountain: --- Level 1: - Dangerous Mountain - ??? --- Western Grasslands: --- Level 1: - Fields Shadowed by Wings - Level 1 B: - Grasslands Fortress Ryaga - Level 1 C: - Grasslands Fortress - ??? '---' Mountain Mines: --- Level 1: -Mysterious Mineshaft - ??? Defenders Having taken over the island themselves, Derek and the Blue Wings are running treasure-hunting operations of their own across the island. Though certain members are lenient about allowing a send that surrenders quietly the chance to live, others operate strictly by a kill-on-sight attitude. The current list of defenders is follows: Blue Wings *Derek Zerus Barona *Professor Washu Hakubi *Chichiri *Maverick Hunter Zero *Lucca Barona *Kanzaki Seiyokaze *Gemini Man *Kamen Rider 555 "Faiz" *BW-008 -Fuyume- *Touka of the Evenkurga *??? Pantheons In addition to the Blue Wings themselves, they also have an armed force consisting of Pantheon units from the Megaman Zero series to act as minions on the island. The Pantheons themselves are actually quite weak, often times requiring only a single hit to kill, but appear in great numbers to make up for this, and it has been somewhat hinted at that they are slowly being improved as time goes on. The current Pantheon models in use on Eclipse Island are: *Pantheon Hunter *Pantheon Guardian *Pantheon Warrior *Pantheon Flyer *Pantheon Hopper *Pantheon Launcher Modified Versions: In addition to the known forces of Pantheon drones, the Blue Wings have been busy preparing upgraded versions of existing models. These models are, due to their color variation, collectively known as the''' Crimson Guard', and as even the prototype models seen during the Grasslands Assault will show, they are not to be taken lightly. The current known models (And parent models) are: *Pantheon Gatling (Hunter) *Pantheon Fencer (Guardian) *Pantheon Falcon (Flyer) It is likely more models will be introduced as time goes on. Special Events Recovering the' HYPER DEATH RAY (COMPLETE) Obviously, the theft of KD's ''HYPER DEATH RAY'' cannot be ignored. With such a weapon in Derek's (Or Washu's) hands, it's only a matter of time before something worse happens as a result. However, with the weapon's location not in one set place like it was during KD Rio's ITW games, and no organized efforts having been made at this point to find and recover the weapon, it is unknown how much longer it will be until the WMD can be pulled safely from the clutches of the Blue Wings and aimed in the direction it should be: At Derek himself Completion Edit: In a massive display of cooperation, most of the forces currently participating in the Eclipse Incident banded together in a large-scale assault on the Blue Wings' base of operations in the Western Grasslands. Though most of this force was eventually routed by the defenses, several of them managed to actually make it onboard the Ryaga for a final desperate push, which ultimately resulted in a surprising victory by Marth, the last man standing. He managed to steal back the ''HYPER DEATH RAY'' along with a portion of the existing Island Map from the very Bridge of the Ryaga itself, and even told Derek where he could stick it on his way out. While his actions have elevated him straight up to the level of Badass Incarnate, there is currently an office pool at Eclipse TV on how long before he suffers horrible retribution for his actions. The King of Evil (Ongoing) Unfortunately, the players are not the only ones seeking to take the ''HYPER DEATH RAY'' from Derek. Ganondorf Dragmire, sworn enemy of KD and Shina, has also learned of the weapon now being held on Eclipse and come to the island to find it himself. Unlike the players, however, who will have to work to find the weapon, Ganondorf actually has a percentage meter that is slowly rising between updates, showing how close he is to finding the gun and taking it. Should he succeed, it will likely end badly for a great many people. The most obvious course of action is to get to the weapon before he does, as he is considered a Boss Encounter at the moment, and attempting to confront him directly is not necessarily the best idea.... Updated: The ''HYPER DEATH RAY'' is off the island and out of reach for many foes, and Ganondorf suffered serious(but not crippling) injuries during a battle with Link in the middle of the Grasslands Fortress. The Gerudo king has retreated back into the shadows as a result, but remains on the island. '''Miscellaneous notes *Unlike his last game, where the updates were written from Derek Zerus Barona's perspective, Derek has adopted an update format of writing from the point of view of a disassociated "Narrator Derek" character, watching all of the events going on and broadcasting them live to the players from a station called Eclipse TV. This is perhaps the closest Derek has come to outright breaking the fourth wall from his position as an author and topic creator. *.....Then you realize that Narrator Derek himself actually appeared on the island twice now, moving through multiple areas, contacting several sends, actually being interfered with by at least two Blue Wings, and completely destroying(or just passing through) the fourth wall for parts of the update. While he was on the island against his will the first time, Gemini Man performed the narration in his place, and actually played short Blue Wings commercials in between writeup sections. The second time, and perhaps any time he enters the field on his own terms, one of the Eclipse TV assistants, Teepo, did the narration for him. *Two words: STUDIO. INTERVENTION. If that tank comes out again, it's probably going to do some collateral damage to a bunch of sends as a result. Category:Topics